DAY 2 - MADRID –
11AM“Illy… wake up… do you know what time it is”
“Yeah…the Wrong time to be waking me if you know what’s good for you!”
“Seriously, it’s 11AM and we have too much to do to sleep it away. Besides, the tour bus gets here at 2PM.”
“Tell ‘em to pick me up tomorrow…maybe the day after.”
“OK lady, here comes the water…”
“You will die slowly and painfully if you bring that glass over here… I’M UP ALREADY!”
And… So started our second day in Madrid. Jet lag had set in, and late night NOWAT writing didn’t help our sleep habits too much either. Should have never stayed so late at lunch with Fernando, but lunches here are late, 1-3 PM and we really tried to cram too much into the first day. We were a little more frugal in Italy and napped before we went out to get lost. But… we did not want to insult Fernando by not going with them right off. Oh well….it WAS a Great Lunch.
Soooooo… after a rushed shower and agenda check, we headed out to find Avis to confirm our arrangements and insure the car we wanted. All was in order, a Volvo 60D diesel will await us Monday for the beginning or our 2400 kilometer trek.
After picking up another battery for the camera [Chuckie left it “ON” in the bag; of course
being 2 years old and getting constant use may have something to do with its burnout, but try telling that to the Dragon Lady] we discover that we are near Plaza España with the great statue of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Her mom LOVED Don Quixote and of course Illy had to jump up on the statue for a photo op. This had the local’s giggling. A few more pics and it was time to fuel the engines before the “Motor Coach” tour.On the way back down Gran Via toward the hotel, we encountered VIPS, a modern upscale café with great desserts. Coincidentally, Chuckie has a meeting with the Director of Research and Development for the parent group, “Grupo Siglia” which also has several very upscale restaurants throughout Spain. [Time to get a little recruiting in if they can hook up]
On the way back to catch the tour bus, the ever Chotchkie searching Illy has to stop at every junk store window to look for stuff to bring back, and of course when she realizes that it is 2PM and the bus is due at 2:20 it now becomes a race to make it back to the hotel in time. Of course Chuckie’s leg is still acting up so the RUN back is not easy.
Back at the hotel by 2:10 [no bus yet] allows a rush upstairs to get the tour voucher and camera case, Illy spots the bus from our balcony and we run downstairs to meet the guide… who is not there. Of course, Illy forgot her sunglasses, so Chuckie runs [well… limps] back up to get them and comes back to find… no tour guide. Now the day desk crew is starting to giggle at this Wacko…Up the stairs…Down the stairs.
We decide to walk to the bus and see if it is the right one and run into the tour lady coming
into the hotel. Soooo… we trot off to the bus to wait for everyone else. With an empty bus, we begin to hotel hop to either pick up other tourists or solicit new riders and wind up at the parking garage for the Palacio Real where we consolidate 3-4 other busses and begin the panoramic tour of Madrid.
A word to future travelers to Spain, get a good map or a personal guide but don’t waste your time on Pulman Tours Panoramic tour. It was a very mediocre bus tour. All the passengers
spoke English but they insisted in doing a dual spiel in both Spanish and English which caused us to sometimes 
be well past the particular monument by the time she got to the English version. Tried to get some Photos from the bus including the Plaza Del Torros but not happy at all.Since, at the end of the tour there was nothing more
to see except the route back to the terminal, we had them drop us at the Museo Del Prado for a stroll through some outstanding art including, Goya,
El Greco, Velasquez and many others. Some good Photos will be forthcoming. It is amazing the reoccurring theme with many of the artists; The Holy Trinity, the Crucifixion, the Nativity and various religious standards, over and over again. I was going to do a photo study of all the variations on the crucifixion but thought of it too late and didn’t want to waste film.The growing pain in Chuckie’s foot and growing hunger pangs in the Cuban Lady had us heading towards Plaza Mayor in search of some
great Tapas and wine. Masochist that he is, 
Chuckie refused taking a cab, [“Gotta get the real feel of Madrid”] and after a dangerous mid traffic photo of the Fountain dedicated to Neptune [this better come out, it will be a fantastic night lit shot] we hobbled down San Jeronimo to the area around Plaza Mayor.
Of course along the way, Chuckie has to take pictures of every cute Saloon, bodega, beer bar and Tapas café that strikes his fancy. We must admit, some were very intriguing but we were headed to find some recommended places.As usual, it was a hit and miss trip, with map in hand we still managed to get just a little lost. [Hey…Illy swears we planned it that way… remember Florence? Getting lost is half the fun!] After a short stop for beer at an Irish Pub in the middle of Madrid, [seems that the Spaniards have a love affair with the Anglo pub traditions] and to rest the leg, it was off to find Cava Alta, Cava Baja and the Plaza de la Cruz, home area of some of the best reported Tapas in town.
While wandering down one narrow calle, we actually stumbled upon “Meson del Champiñon” which had been recommended to us by one of the American Airlines flight crew on the flight over. Having asked several Madrileños yesterday about its location and not getting any favorable response, we had given up on finding it but…. Voila!! There we were. The place’s primary fare is sautéed jumbo mushrooms in an incredible garlic butter, served with home made bread on the side and glass of fine Rioja Vino Tinto. Talk about your genuine money maker Rene’. The cost had to be next to nothing, but with a little side of Jamon Serrano [dry cured ham sliced right off the bone] and a couple glasses of wine it rang up to €25 Euros. Well worth it though, the flavors were to die for.And… of course… the never shy Chuckie had half the place posing for pictures and of course
everyone was getting into his wacky enthusiasm [well…what did you expect… couple of beers… couple glasses of wine… some 
Tapas and more wine…and “You Know Who” has everyone posing.] Of course by now he has the staff eating out of his palm and the free wine started to flow. But…. we were on a mission… the plan was not to eat at one place rather, Tapas our way through the neighborhood, which we headed out to do. Besitos around with the gang at Meson del Champiñon and we were off for more photo ops and Tapas.The next stop was a place recommended by our tour agent OLE, “Casa Antonio”, however it was proving very elusive… well come on…. a little beer… a little wine… and the map reading skills were fading fast. So we reach Plaza de la Cruz, down the street from “Meson de Mushroom” and we still don’t see Casa Antonio.
"Bingo!” cries Illy.
“You found it?” I ask.
“No…Bingo”, she says pointing to a sign over a Bingo Parlor.
“Not funny, your wine is showing.”
And all of a sudden we turn the corner and what is right in front of us…
Aww come on…. Guess… Yup… Casa Antonio.
“Bingo we both shout.”
She swears she spotted it first…. but who cares. We bounce into the cute little place, find the last table open, [the line is starting to form behind us] and settle in for some great Croquettas, an outstanding Assorted cheese board with Quince jelly to smooth out the cheese, and some more great Rioja Vino Tinto, The Cuban Lady was in Heaven.
By now we were starting to fade again, and we had to get the increasingly lame Chuckie back to the hotel, so we headed down some more narrow calles, past some great little bars to the hotel.
On the way, Chuckie ducks into this neat Taverna for a look and runs into a cute couple who
he questions about the International Jazz Festival that takes place all over Spain in October and November. After finding that he had passed one of the best venues, Cafe Central earlier in the day during the deficient bus tour, he begins to whimper loudly but his leg aches too much to back track half way across town to groove on what is considered some of the best Spanish Jazz in the last 20 years.Back at Hotel Regente, we grab the disk with last nights NOWAT and head to the Cafe ZAHARA’s Internet room. Of course nothing is a simple as it should be. The Computer we used the last time was not available and the one we did get didn’t have MSWord installed which was needed to open the transfer disk. We had to roust the attendant from his nap only to find that we had to change machines and still labored to get the journal off properly. [Boy do we miss the Internet Kiosks of Italy] perhaps it will be easier down in the South.
Illy was fading fast so we quickly checked email, sent a few quick replies and headed back to crash. She did, but I just had to jot these few notes before doing the same.
Tomorrow we grab the car and head for Toledo, the ancient capital of Spain and a stay at our first of three Paradores. In case I didn’t mention before, Paradores are State owned hotels that are actually set in old convents, monasteries, fortresses, and other historical locations. We were first turned on to them by non-other than Fernando Gibaja of the Palace hotel. We’re excited about the opportunity to visit history up close and personal.
Before we sign off from Madrid, a few words on the Hotel Regente and what appears to be a Spanish idiosyncrasy. When you book a double room, do not expect to cuddle too much with your mate, unless you enjoy doing it in a standard single bed. “What?” you ask… a double with a single bed? Well actually two single beds shoved together set on double headboard. And of course if you really want to cuddle you must unmake the Military style bed [that you could bounce a silver dollar off of] tucked in all the way around on each single. However, they were
quite comfortable and the rooms were exceptionally clean. Overall we highly recommend the Hotel Regente with its friendly and helpful staff, and great location just steps from Gran Via. 
For future travelers to Madrid, a word about the flavor of this very cosmopolitan city. It is referred to by many as a Mini New York because of its hustle and bustle, traffic gridlock, street vendors and fantastic shopping along Gran via which mimics Broadway. The modern Northern section of Madrid is considered by many locals as the
Mini Manhattan due to its many new and modern high rises. It is a very clean city, with everything getting washed down from streets, sidewalks and quite often, citizens who can’t dodge the 
sidewalk patrol after a late night of clubbing in Madrid’s many discos and clubs. Many Madrid clubs and discos are open till 6AM. [Madrileños party late, rise late but still manage make it to work by 9AM, the official start of the Spanish day.] With Siesta still being observed liberally from 2-4, they return to work till 7 or 8PM and then head to their favorite Tapas cafe to socialize before heading home or to the clubs again. If you love the night life… ya can’t get bored in Madrid! Unfortunately, this is WAY past the Cuban Lady’s bedtime so Chuckie has to settle for doing the latest NOWAT instead.…Now where was that Jazz café????
More from the fabled plains of La Mancha tomorrow.
Ciao 4 Now
Chuck, and the ever hungry but WAY TOO CUTE with mucho Vino Tinto under her belt, Illy
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